Tanzanian Ministers Face Sack if They Fail to Sign Anti-Graft Pledge

"The
president's instructions that all ministers who were yet to declare
their assets and liabilities should do so before 6pm (on Saturday) has
been implemented"-prime minister's office

Photo: ReutersNew Tanzanian president John Magufuli has launched an anti-corruption campaign in the country

Magufuli launched several initiatives to clamp down on corruption since winning an election in November.

Businesses
have long said corruption was a major obstacle to working in the east
African nation and a deterrent to investment. Tanzania is ranked 117th
out of 168 countries in Transparency International's 2015 corruption
perception index where No. 1 is least corrupt.

"The
president's instructions that all ministers who were yet to declare
their assets and liabilities should do so before 6pm (on Saturday) has
been implemented," the prime minister's office said in a statement. It
said those who did not would be fired.

Earlier this week, a body that monitors civil servants said four senior ministers and one junior minister had yet to sign.

Cabinet
ministers and other public officials are required by law to declare
their assets and liabilities at the country's ethics secretariat by Dec.
31 each year, but in the past this has often been ignored. The
integrity pledge is new.

Magufuli,
who took office late last year, has pledged to root out corruption and
government inefficiency. He has sacked several senior officials,
including the head of the government's anti-graft body, the chief
taxman, a senior rail official and the head of the country's port
authority.

Tanzania
is one of Africa's biggest per capita aid recipients, but payments have
often been delayed because donors said they were concerned about
corruption, poor governance and the slow pace of reforms.

In
2014, a group of donors withheld nearly $500 million in budget support
to Tanzania over corruption allegations in the energy industry after a
scandal led to the resignations of three cabinet ministers.